skin problems on pugs

Question
my six year old pug is having very dry itchy skin he has scratched and chewed his skin open in two spots.  the fleas are very bad this year he is currently on a flea pill and frontline plus so he doesn't have any fleas but he is still itchy.  and he is getting black splotches on his skin is this normal and what can i do to control is itching and make him more comfortable. and yet another question sorry, he is constantly getting yeast infections in his ears he always has had this problem because of his allergies, are there any over the counter products that will work on those?

Answer
You are talking about a whole dog issue here. Not just ears or itchy skin.
This dog most likely has what is called 'atopy' which is when they itch all over from inhalant allergies. While inhalants might be the start, fleas, the wrong foods and too much shampooing can exacerbate the problem.

The ears are most likely an extension of all the above. Some of these dogs get seborrhea so this needs to be treated by a veterinarian. You should already have one of you are getting Frontline and a flea pill. What is the pill you are talking about? I have one dog and two cats on Sentinel for heartworms and fleas and they live in and outdoors on 3 acres but not one of them has a flea. Sentinel is one of the safest products out there yet it works great.

The next thing you need to deal with is the rest of the fleas in your house. Adult fleas are only 5% of your problem. The biggest problem you have that isn't being addressed is the larvae and eggs.

Rather than me re-invent the wheel- here are some links that will explain the flea cycle to you.
http://www.flea-info.com/cab/en/cat_fleas_lifecycle.shtml

http://www.flea-info.com/cab/en/cat_fleas.shtml
You also need to get an IGR, which is an insect growth regulator, which kills the larvae and egg stages.

The ears will clear up to the degree that the allergies clear up.
You need to also get this dog on a hypoallergenic diet. There are many novel protein diets like venison and potato to see what he might be having a reaction to.

Hills makes many novel diets that the vets carry. One of them is venison and potato dry.
http://www.hillspet.com/hillspet/products/productDetails.hjsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_i...

You need to get him into the vets and get him started on a program that will rid of him ALL fleas and other stages of the flea, as well as a shampoo made for dogs with his skin condition and something for his ears in the meantime.

This should help you get him on the right track. The first thing you have to go is set up an appointment with the vet and go from there.
Tell him that you need to talk to him for a while about getting this cleared up.
Take care and let me know how it goes.